Psalm 49

{1}Hear this, all ye people; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world:
{2} Both low and high, rich and poor, together.

{3} My mouth shall speak of wisdom;
and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding.
{4} I will incline mine ear to a parable:
I will open my dark saying upon the harp.

{5} Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil,
when wicked deceivers surround me?

{6} They that trust in their wealth,
and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches;
{7} None of them can by any means redeem his brother,
nor give to God a ransom for him:
{8} (the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough)

None of them can by any means redeem his brother
{9} That he should still live for ever, and not see corruption.

{10} For he seeth that wise men die,
likewise the fool and the brutish person perish,
and leave their wealth to others.

{11} Their inward thought is,
that their houses shall continue for ever,
and their dwelling places to all generations;
they call their lands after their own names.

{12}man being in honour, nevertheless abideth not:
he is like the beasts that perish.
{13} This their way is their folly:
yet their posterity approve their sayings.

{14} Like sheep they are laid in the grave;
death shall feed on them;
and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning;
and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling.

{15} But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave:
for he shall receive me.
{16} Be not thou afraid when one is made rich,
when the glory of his house is increased;
{17} For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away:
his glory shall not descend after him.

{18} Though while he lived he blessed his soul:
and men will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself.
{19} He shall go to the generation of his fathers;
they shall never see light.

{20} Man that is in honour, and doesn’t understand this,
is like the beasts that perish."

If we can’t grasp the meaning of this song, we are no better than an old dog we have put down.

Not long ago, I lost an old friend who I thought would surely outlive me. I went to his funeral last year, and now he lies under six feet of east Texas soil and no amount of money I have can ransom him from that cold grave.

It is natural for men to feel confident when they have wealth, but nothing brings this home to us like the simple fact that the most your money and medicare can do is postpone the inevitable.

The ransom for a life is costly, says the psalm, and no payment is ever enough.
But, said the psalmist, “God will redeem my soul from the grave.”
How can anyone imagine that the OT doesn’t teach the resurrection?

“Man that is in honour, and doesn’t understand this,
is like the beasts that perish."
 

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